Okay... this is a situation where it would be appropriate to play the "race card" (which is already a biased term BTW) in my opinion:
"Beyoncé was one of the most prominent black superstars of the early 21st century." Her race is relevant in this case because by emerging as a huge solo artist following the disbandment of DC, Beyoncé established herself as possibly the most successful black female artist since the Janet Jackson/Whitney Houston/Mariah Carey days. It is quite possible she's partially responsible for the later success of black artists such as Rihanna and Nicki Minaj.
In
this case, it would not be appropriate to place importance on race:
"Beyoncé was the first black female artist to win 6 Grammy Awards in one night." Although this was an important and deserved moment in Beyoncé's career, it was not significant in breaking down any barriers, and reflected only the perceived quality of her music. In the past, the Grammys had been consistently accepting of both black AND female artists, and the reason she won the awards she did was most likely because the Grammys have always liked her music, and the IASF era was both successful and important for her career.
I feel like the second situation is something the BeyHive occasionally uses to make her accomplishment seem even more prestigious, when it's already impressive that she won 6 Grammys in one night. It's the same as "Beyoncé is the first black artist to have her first 4 albums debut at #1." Yes, it's very nice, but ultimately, it's because people like her music. That's it. Her race isn't relevant to that statistic at all.
Just IMO.